Learner Tien, Eleana Yu Win USTA National Junior Titles To Earn U.S. Open Wild Cards

 Top American juniors Learner Tien (16; Irvine, Calif.) and Eleana Yu (17; Mason, Ohio) won the USTA Boys’ and Girls’ 18s National Championships, respectively, each earning a wild card into the main draw of the US Open and headlining the annual USTA National Championships that took place last week.

The nation’s top junior tennis players competed in the National Championships, held at five locations across the country featuring singles and doubles competition across the 18s, 16s, 14s and 12s age groups. In addition to the US Open main draw wild cards awarded to the 18s singles and doubles champions, the singles finalists in the boys’ and girls’ 18s divisions received wild card entries into the US Open Qualifying Tournament set to being on Tuesday, Aug. 23, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Meanwhile, the boys’ and girls’ 16s singles champions earned wild card entries into the US Open Junior Championships.

Tien defeated recent high school graduate and future University of Georgia Bulldog Ethan Quinn (18; Fresno, Calif.), 7-6(7), 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-3, in Monday’s rain-delayed singles final. Tien, who is currently ranked as the No. 40 junior in the world in the latest ITF rankings, won the singles title at the prestigious ITF International Spring Championships in San Diego earlier this year and also reached the quarterfinals at the Wimbledon Junior Championships last month. Quinn not only will receive a US Open qualifying wild card for his runner-up effort, but also earned a US Open doubles wild card as he and partner Nicholas Godsick (17; Chagrin Falls, Ohio) won the boys’ 18s doubles title on Saturday. Godsick is the son of American tennis legend Mary Joe Fernandez and prominent tennis agent Tony Godsick.

Yu defeated 15-year-old Valerie Glozman (Bellevue, Wash.) in Sunday’s singles final, 6-3, 7-5. Yu, who has spent the majority of the past year competing in USTA Pro Circuit and ITF World Tennis Tour events, has twice appeared in qualifying at a WTA Tour event and earned her best professional result when she reached the quarterfinals at a USTA Pro Circuit W25 event in Daytona Beach, Fla., earlier this year. Reese Brantmeier (17; Whitewater, Wis.) and Clervie Ngounoue (16; Washington, D.C.) won the girls’ 18s doubles title and will receive a wild card into the US Open women’s doubles main draw.

Darwin Blanch (14; Deerfield Beach, Fla.) and Alyssa Ahn (15; San Diego) won the respective singles titles at the USTA Boys’ and Girls’ 16s National Championships and will receive wild cards into the main draw of the US Open Junior Championships.

Complete results from the USTA National Championships can be found below. The complete draws are available here: Boys’ 18s and 16s; Girls’ 18s and 16s; Boys’ 14s and 12s; Girls’ 14s; Girls’ 12.